Overview

A woman on the edge of sin...

Helen Rivenall is willing to do anything to escape the brutality of her uncle's home. But a promise of honest employment is a ruse. Drugged and auctioned off in a notorious London brothel, she finds herself won by a man who wants nothing from her except her participation in a harmless charade. Left with no choice, she reluctantly agrees, but as their web of lies grows, so does ...

More About
This Book

Overview

A woman on the edge of sin...

Helen Rivenall is willing to do anything to escape the brutality of her uncle's home. But a promise of honest employment is a ruse. Drugged and auctioned off in a notorious London brothel, she finds herself won by a man who wants nothing from her except her participation in a harmless charade. Left with no choice, she reluctantly agrees, but as their web of lies grows, so does temptation and the realization that pleasure and sin are often one and the same.

A man about to lose all control...

Sebastian Rockwood, Earl of Melton is haunted by a dark secret in his past. One that taught him control is a personal trait to be valued above all others. He also learned never to give his heart to anyone. The risk is too great. Yet where Helen is concerned, his prized control is slowly giving way to temptation, and all too quickly he discovers nothing can protect him from the ultimate obsession-love.

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

More by this Author

An award-winning author of spicy historical and paranormal romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today.

Her historical book awards include the 2011 RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice Award and the 2012 Gayle Wilson Heart of Excellence Award for Pleasure Me. She is also the recipient of the prestigious paranormal romance award, the 2011 PRISM Best of the Best award for Assassin's Heart.

From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it's possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough.

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.

- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by:
Showing
all of
5
Customer Reviews

Anonymous

Posted October 30, 2006

Obsession - Unable to Stop

I found this book to be very enjoyable. I found myself actually IN the story instead of just reading about the story. I feel the characters were well developed. The story was VERY enjoyable!!! I LOVE reading her books!!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Anonymous

Posted September 14, 2013

Good

This book was very good, 945 pages. The beginning was good and the storyline was good but the first 425 pages Sebastion and Helen just lusted after each other, that part was a bit long, but overall the book was exciting and held my interest. I would recommend it. I was getting so tired and disgusted with the New Adult Books, they were all reading the same!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

AustenStudent

Posted April 14, 2014

I completely fell in love with Sebastian from the beginning of t

I completely fell in love with Sebastian from the beginning of this story. An earl, he is a kind and very responsible eldest brother taking care of his family, running his estate, and trying to match his siblings while trying to keep his beloved Aunt Matilda from matchmaking him. He’s very self-disciplined and used to being in complete control of his life and Helen upends it completely; the way he constantly looks at his timepiece is hilarious. He’s also a consummate pianist and he plays to relax when he can.He stumbles upon Helen in a brothel, when he helps his brother, Caleb, rescue a young woman who has been kidnapped; she is being auctioned to the highest bidder. He feels for her and is disgusted by the process so, to protect her and keep her from his loathsome nemesis, Viscount Templeton, he bids for her and wins. He takes her to his family’s London home and, in exchange for helping her, he (ashamedly) asks Helen to pose as his fiancée for his fastidious aunt. Because she feels indebted to him, she agrees, especially after he also rescues her precocious younger brother, Edward.Helen and Edward are on the run from an abusive uncle. They hope to find their estranged maternal grandfather in the hopes that he will take them in, but they have no idea how to accomplish this without Sebastian’s help.Slowly, Helen comes to appreciate Sebastian’s actions on her behalf and his great kindness, hidden behind his careful façade of distance and aloofness. The mantle of earl was thrust upon him at the very young age of seventeen and, ever since, he has felt the great weight of familial responsibility. He saved the family estate from financial ruin but he is also very lonely.I loved Louisa, Sebastian’s spirited sister. Her charm and ease with Sebastian and her warm and affectionate welcome of Helen and her brother endeared me to her. Aunt Matilda is also a sharp observer and tries some matchmaking of her own.The slowly growing love between Helen and Sebastian is both sweet and sensual. Each learns the other’s secrets and comes to care deeply about the other. Both are devoted to their siblings and there is this strong theme of family throughout the story.Historical events in the background create an atmosphere fraught with tension and danger, most notably the Jack the Ripper murders in Whitechapel. And there is also mention of Salisbury who was Prime Minister three times between 1885 and 1902.Memorable moments:“Marriage to her, or any woman, would destroy the well-ordered existence he’d created for himself.” (p367)“'Sebastian is rough around the edges, but all he needs is a little bit of coaxing to make him a prince among men.'” (p436)A beautiful and sexy love story with strong themes of family and honor.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.